Mortal Combat: A Renora Story
by StarGirlPotter
Summary: He watched helpless as she flew across the room, collapsing next to her weapon. He dropped his own and rushed over, helpless as she slowly turned to dust and blew away. Waking up, he realized it was just a dream. But he still isn't sure if he can keep her safe. Unknowingly to him, She's asking herself if she can keep him safe. RATED M FOR VIOLENCE
1. Worry Becomes Her

It was stormy out as Nora looked through the window in her dorm room. Knowing she was alone, she hopped out of the window, grabbing onto a tree branch. She lowered herself down, branch by branch, until she reached the bottom rung. Almost reaching the grassy dirt, she let go completely, dropping herself abruptly onto the ground on accident.

"Ow..." she whined to herself, a frown appearing on the face that so rarely holds one in the presence of others. She looked up at the sky through the leaves, watching the clouds float by, thinking about the events of that day's challenge match.

They had been in Port's class and he was making the team members fight each other.

"If you know how to defeat your own teammates, you can protect their weaknesses and help make them stronger," their stout professor had always said. Nora expected to be pitted against her whole team, but instead, Port started sectioning off pairs within the teams. She was to fight Ren, her best friend. She watched in class as Ren fought against Pyrrha and Jaune individually, though not before Pyrrha and Jaune fought each other. She knew she was to fight each of them next, but time ran out of class. She gripped her pink skirt and dug her nails into it as it bunched, visibly frowning as she heard her professor announce that she'd be fighting Ren next. She saw her teammates approaching her at the end of class but couldn't talk then. She walked briskly out of the room before they could stop her and ran all of the way to the dorms herself, dreading the next day.

After watching the clouds for a while and zoning out into her memories, Nora noticed the stormclouds had started to release their water. She looked around, seeing the water splash around her, but wondered why she wasn't wet herself. She then noticed Ren sitting behind her, holding an umbrella over the both of them, one of his arms out and ready to hug her. Instead of the hug tackle he was expecting, or even one of Nora's trademarked boops, he was surprised to see Nora holding her arms around her own torso, leaning into Ren's chest, crying softly. Without speaking, he wrapped his free hand around her and let her cry, all the while holding the umbrella over them both. They didn't need words. They both knew why she was crying.

They sat there for another 10 minutes undisturbed as Jaune and Pyrrha looked on through the window in their room. "Should we disturb them?" Pyrrha asked quietly. Jaune decided and yelled "YOU TWO LOVEBIRDS, GET A ROOM! OR AT LEAST GET INTO OUR ROOM. IT'S POURING OUT!" Pyrrha snickered quietly to herself at Jaune's action and watched as Ren picked up his best friend from childhood and carried her inside carefully, making sure no harm would come to her. How they would manage to fight each other the next day, neither had any idea.


	2. Trip Down Memory Lane

As he carries her up the stairs, Ren looks down. He notices Nora has started to doze off and he smiles to himself, thinking about when they first met.

*****  
A wild Grimm had attacked a small town on the edge of Vacuo. Nora had hidden in the doors under her kitchen sink, putting the soap in front of her to hide her scent. She was placed there by her mother, as told by her father. Mauve and Benjamin, after hiding their only daughter, ran. They knew they wouldn't make it out alive, not only with Magnhild to save them. A simple hammer wouldn't do much if they couldn't even lift it. It stayed perpetually as a fixture of their family room, nobody being able to lift it as of yet. The two ran, praying their child would make it out alive.

Ren wouldn't let his father leave for his jobs when he was a child. He knew his mother was gone forever and he didn't want to lose his father as well. His father, Faux Ren, took his son with him on his hunting trips now. His Dual Automatic Pistols kept them safe from harm typically. When Faux and Lie Ren got to the edge of Vacuo, they were shocked at the devastation that had occurred. Faux looked around and concluded that the Grimm had left, and he ordered his son Lie to check a few homes for any survivors as he did the same. As Lie entered the third of the four homes he was set to check, he heard a rustle in the kitchen. He noted the odd hammer in the room as he passed it and tried to lift it, in case it was needed. He failed to pick it up and figured no other six year old could lift it either, so he didn't think much of it. As he entered the kitchen, he heard light crying and traced the sound to the doors under the sick. There, he found a little ginger girl who appeared to be his age crying softly to herself. He was generally talkative, but the second he saw her, he felt like he needed to be quiet. He feebly mustered some words and said "Would you like some help?" to her. When she nodded, he took her hand and pulled her past the soap containers, causing a crash.

Hearing a crash come from the house his son was meant to be in, Faux quickly ran to the abandoned home to see his son holding a young girl. Faux picked them both up and brought them to the girl's old family room. Faux also fell victim to the young girl and stood silent, unable to find the words to speak, as though she kept them from speaking. He was barely able to bring the words to ask her for her name and what happened. She replied, saying her name was Nora Valkyrie. Her Mommy put her under the sink to keep her safe, and that her parents were dead. "The Grimm attacked us," she said, eerily quiet. As though taking it as a cue, a beowolf entered her home through the now open door, slowly stalking it's way into the family room. Faux pulled out his pistols but missed his shot and was then out of bullets. The beowolf took that as a hostile threat and attacked him. Upon seeing her new friend so brutally maimed, Nora screamed, shattering the glass in the windows. She started glowing Pink as her semblance activated itself, all the while freezing everything in it's place. The small petite girl almost scared the beowolf away, but it didn't leave. After she finished screaming, it started to stalk her. She got up, walked up to Magnhild, lifted it with ease, and smacked it across the face. It went flying out of the now shattered window, a trail of blood flying with it. That pulled Lie out of his trance from watching everything unfurl. He and Nora both rushed to Faux and each held one of his hands as he slowly bled to death. As the life force drained from his body, Lie started sobbing. Nora went over to him and just held her new friend. After what felt like a lifetime, she asked their names. He replied "He was Faux Ren. I'm Lie Ren. But just call me Ren." He said quietly, as though he lost all will to speak. Nora just nodded and held him. Knowing they were alone now, they grew up together, as family. They got accepted to Signal and both customized their weapons. She made Magnhild into what it is now, and Ren added to what was once his fathers pistols, naming them Stormflower, in honor of Nora. As she was what kept him going through the tough times, he wanted his altered weapons to be her in some way, so no matter what he'd always have her. *****

As he finished his little daydream, he opens the door to the communal room for team JNPR and lays Nora down onto the bed. He wipes a stray tear from his face, bringing his finger to his lips and making the "shh" motion. Jeune and Pyrrha understand and leave to let the two sleep in peace. 


	3. Hiding Her True Colors

As Nora slowly came to, she yawned and stretched. She looked next to herself and realized Ren had stayed with her. She knew why he had. He only ever slept in the bed with her when he remembered their meeting; it always gave him nightmares if he slept alone after thinking about it. She looked over at her life-long friend and sighed. She knew they had likely slept through the rest of their classes, or at least Ooblek's class, and that meant there was only a bit of time left until they'd need to fight. She knew he was a better fighter but that if she activated her semblance or used Magnhild, he'd go down for the count. The hammer killed almost everything upon contact and the Grenade launcher was not safe for usage against her friend. Unless she activates her Semblance, she won't stand a chance. But although she has used it before and understands it, she refuses it use it in front of others. Much like Pyrrha, she couldn't use it often and it caused problems when she did. She only ever used it once in front of ren and he was six. He couldn't understand it or comprehend just how lethal Nora could be.

Nora gasped to herself upon thinking that. "Lethal? Me? Everything about me screams innocent and energetic but I guess I'm right. I'm more lethal than anyone else here." She whispered to herself. She looked over at Ren again and sighed, getting out of the bed by climbing over his slumbering form. She tussled him but not enough to wake him up. She stretched again upon standing and walked to the restroom that was ensuite all of the rooms and started the shower.

Ren slowly picked his head up after hearing the bathroom door close and the shower start. Although he was a heavy sleeper, he awoke a few minutes before Nora and kept his eyes shut to not wake her. He fought himself to not speak and calm down his friend when he heard her talking to herself. He knew he saw something odd click in her often, but he could never isolate it. No matter what, people around Nora felt the need to be quiet, whether she was speaking or not. He started to think about how that could possibly tie into her semblance and began brainstorming.

He sat himself up fully now and stretched before standing and walking over to his bedside table. He sat on his bed and pulled out his daily planner and flipped to the hidden part hiding in the hollowed out part of the hardcover. He pulled out the paper and started reviewing his notes for Nora's possible semblance. He figured she may not know either and had made it his own personal quest to figure it out. He added "Silence" to the bottom of the list which consisted of Extreme loud, Boom, Speed, and Slow. He realized everything was contradicting themselves and crumpled up the paper and threw it away. As he put his head in his hands and said quietly to himself "I'm sorry Nora," the bathroom door opened. "Sorry about what?" She replied.

Author's Note!  
I'm sorry to say this but PLEASE leave reviews! I'd love to know what people think of my story. I know it's a bit odd as of now but please take it into consideration that this is only the third chapter. Nora's Semblance will be revealed soon enough, though I will leave a request. I will update my story when someone new Reviews. Good, Bad, Flame, I don't care. Also, leave requests for stories you'd like to see done within the RWBY fandom. I will take it into consideration and you may get your pairing written!

Alright. This AN is getting long. Read, Review, and Follow for more chapters!

OH YEAH I almost forgot. I don't own RWBY. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth (I would've said Monty Oum but taking his death into consideration, I am not sure who it belongs to specifically). This will be my only disclaimer. Take it or leave it.


	4. Revealing The Truth

**Ch. 4**

"Sorry about what?" Nora asked, walking out of the restroom with a towel on her head and another around her body.

Ren averted his eyes, although he'd seen Nora in more revealing clothes in the past, or none at all. Growing up together, they had no reservations about their bodies, though Ren did try to be respectful when possible. He took a second to think about his wording before forcing words out. "I feel that there is a clock ticking and we are powerless to stop it. I want to help you but I can't tell how. I don't even know what your semblance is, and I've seen it!" Ren said, exasperatedly.

"Do you really need to know?" Nora asked. Ren nodded and instead of speaking, she grabbed some loose paper, a blue pen, and the room's paper shredder. She started writing.

"It's rather hard to explain. I guess it's rather like time manipulation and destruction mixed. You saw what I did to that Beowolf, but, you never saw me do it. Basically, time slows down for me only if I'm in a desperate situation. It speeds up for anyone else. You'd never even see me move. But the destruction added is what you saw with the scream. I can't control that. It's defense and allows my semblance to be activated. If I want to use my semblance, I instantly cause destruction. But I can't always control it. It's why people are always quiet around me. It's because the time speeding can't allow them to speak unless I've just drained my semblance. I guess I'm rather like a snake with venom in that sense. It may drip out from time to time but there is only so much reserved. Once I bite, it is powerful and works well but it's depleted almost instantly and won't build back up for quite some time. You remember the Avalanche, hearing me scream when we were eleven? How do you think I survived? I wasn't screaming because I was being maimed. I did it to save myself and kill the Ursi in the collapsed cave with me."

She wrote it all in a blur. It was partially illegible to anyone who didn't know her handwriting style but Ren knew her long enough to understand her writings and just looked at her with sad eyes. He had no idea that was what was actually happening. He realized without her trying that her weapon was so lethal to humans that if she activated her semblance and attempted to use Magnhild, he'd be dead without ever seeing his friend move. After looking over the paper once more, he nodded at her. She understood and passed it through the shredder. Ren hugged the girl he grew up with once more and gathered the will to speak. "Get dressed. We should get some food." She nodded, not feeling the need to speak, and walked to her dresser to get her clothes. She quickly changed as Ren had his back turned. After she was done, they grabbed each other's hand for support and went down to get food.

**AN. **

**Everyone, say thank you to the guest reviewer! Without them, this update wouldn't be online yet (I have multiple chapters written out and have been waiting for sooooo long for a reviewer. THANK YOU GUEST!) I now have a follower as an auther from Isadorable Blueberries and an author favorite from Isadorable Blueberries and from Bottledfun. On my story, the followers are: Swimfared, Elder Trolls, Cq02, OzzyYT, and keithwolf. The following people have favorited: Tomson321, OzzyYT, and keithwolf**

**YAY! I've felt like updating for so long and nobody had reviewed!. **

**The semblance thing was actually inspired by one of my anxiety attacks. Whenever I have them, the world spins and I feel like I'm either moving too quickly for the world or the world is moving too quickly for me. I know how disorienting it can be and thought if I split those two options up, it could create a terrifying semblance. **

**I also figure the whole team JNPR won't care about changing in one another's presence. Jaune grew up with all sisters so seeing girls in various stages of undress shouldn't faze him. Pyrrha modeled and did a LOT as a child/teen. In that type of lifestyle, you get used to changing in front of others and it becomes second nature. Ren and Nora grew up together, much like siblings. Though Ren will try to be respectful, both he and she do not care much about it. We saw Ren in a towel only in the series and although he was reaching for clothes, he probably just wanted to get dressed. That's my take on it anyway. **

**JUST A WARNING: I will be updating the next chapter almost instantly. The start is rather boring but it does show how well Ren and Nora work together. It may seem like filler but it is there for a reason. Oh well, if you read Author's Notes, you'll see soon. If not, I can't really say much.**

**Read, review, and hope you like it!**


	5. A Perfect Balance

**Ch. 5**

They walked hand-in-hand down to the cafeteria where they had their infamous food-fight and Nora lost her crown. The memory of being slammed against the wall caused a shudder to go down her spine as she remembered the pain she was left in for well over a week, as well as the necessary infirmary visit. Though her aura had been unlocked, her leg was too hurt for her aura to repair it alone.

They looked at each other before checking their scrolls. The time read 19:32 and they breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't have long but they did have almost a full half-hour of time to eat.

They walked in, their hands still interlocked, and found their way apart to get to their own foods.

Nora almost ran to the salad bar to get a mound of snap peas before grabbing a slab of steak to balance each other out, then grabbed six oranges and made her way to her seat. She then looked up and saw Ren making his way over with grilled chicken, an omelette, and a loaf of bread. They had a routine where they each took a meat, she grabbed the fruit and vegetables, he grabbed the dairy and grains. She also had the extra plate to put the extra food onto. She noticed the Omelette and gave Ren an inquisitive look. He nodded and spoke, saying "Eggs, cheese, rice, ham, and snap peas. I knew you were wondering." She nodded after he spoke and started moving around some of the food. She cut half of her steak and placed it on Ren's plate as he placed half of his chicken on hers. He broke off half of his bread but put both halves onto the spare plate as Nora put her vegetables onto the spare plate as well. The omelette joined the plate and the oranges just stayed on the table.

As they devoured their foods in their typical order (meat then vegetables then dairy(omelette) then the bread to finish everything and bring the fruit to the room), the cafeteria began to clear out. They [almost] finished with about two minutes to spare.

After they checked their scrolls, they pocketed the fruit and Ren grabbed his half of the loaf, as he's a slower eater, and they walked off to the dorm. He ate his bread along the way, leaving a literal trail of breadcrumbs.

Jaune and Pyrrha sat in their room, looking around at the mess. Nora's bed was disheveled and the paper shredder was out in a weird spot. There was also more trash in the bin along with a towel on the floor which caused them to look at each other in confusion. The room looked a bit like homework gone wrong meets sexy times and although nobody would say it wasn't obvious how much Ren and Nora loved one another, it was also evident that they wouldn't just have sex. If they knew Ren, they'd know he wouldn't just sleep with her. He'd actually sleep with her, like, being asleep. Not try to have sex with her.

As the door opened silently, Jaune and Pyrrha didn't notice and Jaune audibly said "what, did they film a porn in here? I didn't expect them to act on their desires, at least not quite yet."

He spoke while facing Pyrrha, but she could see the duo entering the room. She started making the signal for "don't talk" and he didn't notice until the end. He finally said "they're right behind me, aren't they?" He turned around to obvious mortification on Ren's face and to Nora wiggling her eyebrows, causing Jaune and Pyrrha to start laughing. Ren then looked over at Nora and subsequently began laughing with the rest. Nora smiled and thought to herself "yep, I still got it. I can still make them all shut up."

She walked over to the minifridge and tossed her oranges onto one of the shelves before pulling herself into the bed and under the covers. She was a night owl, as was her team, but she didn't care in that moment. She needed sleep and it beckoned to her. She was out like a light before anyone even noticed she had moved away from the laughing group. Ren realized what had happened after he saw her in bed, though the other two were still lost about how Nora seemed to do everything with such speed that you don't see her move. Ren smiled a sad smile and Jaune looked over at him. He asked if he know how Nora always does that. Pyrrha looked over and awaited Ren's reply as well. All Ren said though, was "Those who smile the brightest hide the most behind their smiles. Those who laugh the loudest hide even themselves from themselves. And those who give others joy are hiding what they lack." He flashed his sad smile once more before making his way over to his and Nora's joined beds, curling up beside her.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at one another with a mixture of fear and confusion in their eyes. They knew it meant something was wrong, but all they could do at this point was wait. They looked over and at the sight of their friends slumbering, they felt the call of the night and started to prepare themselves for sleep.

**AN.**

**I wasn't lying. Boring food-y start turns into laughs. But just seeing them eat, you can see how well the duo works together. It's almost as if they were destined to work together. Or, the more probable answer, is having been together so long, they've developed a system that works for the both of them. **

**Once again, read, review, and I hope you like it!**


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